9. Otter-penguins

…

Lee continued to walk alongside his friends as they left the city and entered the snowy landscape. His feet dug into the snow for a few inches as he walked.

Tariq took the lead as he always does, closely followed by Nukka, the girl-boss of their group. Ahnah walked to his right, holding hands with her best friend, Panik. Lee had long noticed that both girls were practically inseparable. That left Kavik and Sika, who were walking in the middle of the group.

“Where are the otter-penguins?” Ahnah asked.

“Yeah, I don’t see any otter-penguins,” Panik nodded. “You sure the information was real, Tariq? Not the first time you heard some gossip only for it to be untrue once we start to investigate.”

“Have some patience, you two,” Tariq muttered in a grumbling tone. “We just left the city. They should be some distance away.”

“Mhm,” Nukka nodded. “The guards near the lift wouldn’t have let us come here if there weren’t any otter-penguins.”

The group continued to walk in silence in a straight line for some time. The ice beneath them gradually sloped upward as they climbed atop a tall frozen wave.

A gasp of delight escaped Nakku’s lips, causing everyone to rush beside her in excitement.

Lee spotted close to a hundred otter-penguins below. Some of them were standing still, others walking, and some lying down and resting. It was a weirdly fascinating sight. Otherworldly in its own way. They looked like extra-large emperor penguins with four wings and a round otter face instead of a beak.

“Let’s go,” Siku exclaimed before running down the slope without a second thought, so he could run around the wave and reach the otter-penguins.

Others, including Lee, quickly chased after him.

It only took them a few minutes to arrive among the waddle of otter-penguins.

Lee slowly spun on his feet, surrounded by chirping otter-penguins. His heart started to thump loudly in his ribcage. Blood rushed to his head.

Even in his past life, he was particularly fond of animals. So it was a tragedy that he couldn’t really spend time with any of them because of his condition. For hours, he would watch documentaries on television inside his room or in the hospital. It was his favourite pastime. Animals. Birds. Aquatic species. Insects. All of them fascinated him.

He was quite envious of people who could go and visit a zoo or an aquarium. There was that one time when his elder sister’s cat sat on his chest. It was pure bliss. That fondness had only increased once he came to this world.

So as he listened to chirps and cute growls of otter-penguins while standing among them, he felt like he was in heaven.

A curious little bugger standing a few feet away from him tilted its otter face and let out a short chirp before waddling over him to investigate the weird creature before it.

Lee stilled, too afraid to move, lest he spook it. It stopped beside him, leaned forward, and started to sniff him all over. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, tickled by the whisker on its face.

When he noticed that the creature wasn’t going to run away, he slowly raised his hands and started to caress its body. The soft-haired creature froze at first, its whiskers twitching as his fingers brushed along its sleek fur body.

A joyful shiver travelled across his spine when it let out a pleased trill, a sound somewhere between a purr and a chirp, and leaned forward to hug him as if requesting him to continue the caresses.

Encouraged, Lee gently scratched behind its rounded ears, marvelling at how warm it felt despite the cool air. It giggled in a series of continuous chirps.

From the corner of his eye, Lee saw his friends take out small fish from their pockets, only to get swarmed by chirping otter-penguins.

“Give me one too,” he yelled, turning his face toward Ahnah as she stood nearest to him.

She threw a small fish his way that he caught in his palm with a snap before presenting it to the otter-penguin hugging his body.

The creature sniffed the fish, its bright eyes widening with interest. It released a delighted chirp and gently took the offering from his hand, its tiny paws brushing against his fingers. Lee laughed quietly as it nibbled with surprising eagerness, making soft clicking sounds between bites.

Soon, another waddled closer, then another, their curiosity overcoming caution. They circled him, chirping and nudging, drawn by the scent of food and the warmth of his presence.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

His balance broke, and he fell on the icy ground, blanketed by a mass of multiple soft, warm bodies. Otter-penguins pressed their bodies against him, and their tiny voices blended into a chorus.

Lee grinned, heart beating widely in delight, as he enjoyed the moment. It felt like he had become part of their little world, if only for a moment.

…

“With how much you eat, I’m surprised that you haven’t become a small tiger-walrus,” Pakku commented, watching as he took another serving of smoked fish.

Lee slowed down and met his gaze with innocent eyes. “I’m a growing child,” he said, to defend himself. “It’s natural for me to eat more than you, master.”

“Even growing children don’t eat as much as you do,” Pakku said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. “Where does it all go, huh?”

“He’s taller than kids his age, Master Pakku,” Mona said, joining the conversation in his defence.

Lee gave her a grateful look. The half-bald man clearly didn’t have a good day at the palace today, and now he was taking his frustrations out on him. He chose to ignore it as he didn’t want to anger the man who lets him live under his roof and take cares of all his expenses. Plus, his behaviour was decent most of the time except for his sarcasm. He decided that he could tolerate a few snide remarks every once in a while.

Pakku blinked as if he had just realised that fact before leaning to carefully scrutinise him from all angles. “That’s true,” he muttered, caressing his chin. “I apologise. Eat as much as you want, child,” he added, looking away.

Lee just nodded, accepting his apology.

“How is your practice going?” Pakku asked, likely to change the topic or maybe because he felt guilty. Lee couldn’t tell clearly.